Protector for telephone-mouthpieces.



M G. HEBERLY.

PROTECTOR FOR TELEPHONE MOUTHPIECES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20, I916.

Patented Jan.

Fir

Fig. 5.

iNVENTUQ DY Qo/MW XM ATTQRNEYE rrn snares iearnnfr OFFICE.

MARY GRIFFIN I 'IEIBERLY, OF SPRINGVILLE, NEW YORK.

PROTECTOR FOR TELEPHONEJVIOUTHPIECES.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. so, rem.

Application filed April 20, 1916. Serial No. 92,360.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARY GRIFFIN HEB- ERLY, a citizen of the United States, resid ing at Springville, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Protectors for Telephone-Mouthpieces, of which the following is a specification.

Ihis invention relates to a protector which is adapted to be removably applied to the mouthpiece of a telephone, speaking tube, or other device usually provided with a mouth for speaking purposes.

The object of this invention is to provide an individual germ proof protector of this character which will safeguard persons using the telephone against infection and which is of simple andinexpensive construction and capable of being readily attached to and removed from such mouthpieces, so that each person can conveniently use a fresh protector on the mouthpiece of the telephone prior to using the same and then discard the same.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a telephone'showing the mouthpiece thereof equipped with one form of protector constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a telephone showing its mouthpiece equipped with another form of protector whichembodies my improvements. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same.v Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section, on an enlarged scale, showing the means for fastening the protector to the mouthpiece.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 1 I

My improved protector is more particularly designed for use on a mouthpiece 1 which is of tubular form and tapers rearwardly in the shape of a bell, the front end of this mouthpiece being open and adapted to receive the lips of a speaker while the rear end thereof communicates with the artswhich are adapted to receive the tone. n the particular installation shown in the drawings this mouthpiece forms part of a telephone and for this purpose the rear end :thereof is mounted on the front wall 2 of the transmitter which latter may be of any suitable or well known construction. It is to be understood, however, that the use of my improved protector is not confined to this particular type of mouthpiece nor to telephone mouthpieces but may be used in connection with other forms of mouthpieces and in connection with other analogous devices.

In its general organization the protector which contains my invention comprises a body 3 and a fasteningdevice for attaching this body removably to the mouthpiece. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the body of the protector is constructed generally in the form of a tube which tapers rearwardly and is adapted to be inserted into the bore of the mouthpiece so as to form a lining therefor. At its rear end this body is pro- 'v1ded w1th a transverse diaphragm 4 so that the body and diaphragm together form a complete screen across the passageway in the mouthpiece.

At its front edge the body of the protector is provided with a resilient attaching rim whereby the same may be detachably connected with the front part of the mouthpiece which rim surrounds the peripheral part of the mouthpiece adjacent to the front end thereof. In its preferred form this attaching line comprises an inner annular flange or section 5 which projects rearwardly from the front edge of the body around the outer side thereof and an outer annular flange or section 6 projecting forwardly from the rear edge of the inner flange and surrounding the latter. The inand outer flanges are constructed to form a forwardly taperingguide surface 7 the extreme diameters of which are respectivelylarger and greater than the front edge of the anouthpiece of the telephone or other device.

When it is desired to apply this pro- 110 tector to the mouthpiece of a telephone or the like preparatory to using the same the body of the protector is inserted into the mouthpiece and the rim thereof is pushed rearwardly'against the front edgeof the mouthpiece whereby the forwardly tapering bearing surface 7 of the rim is caused to engage the mouthpiece and spread or dis tend the rim sufliciently to permit the inner flange thereof to pass over the enlarged front end of the mouthpiece. After this in- -ner flange has passed rearwardly beyond the enlarged front edge of the mouthpiece the rim again contracts and its inner flange is caused to grip the peripheral portion of the mouthpiece immediately in rear of its front edge' where the mouthpiece is of the largest diameter. This expansion and con traction of'the rim for'this purpose is obto come in contact when using the telephone and thus prevent infection or contraction of disease in the event that any disease germs have been. deposited in the mouthpiece by a prior user of the telephone. This protector does not interfere with the free transmission of speech through the telephone inasmuch as the effect of the sound waves pass freely through the rotector if the same is made of gauze, as s own in Figs. 1 and 2, and also transmits the Vibrations to the telephone in case the protector is made of thin paper or similar material, as shown in Figs.

-3, 4L and 5. If somewhat thicker material is used the passage of the "sound waves through the. protector v to the telephone may be facilitated by'providing mhe diaphragm of the protector with a' plurality of fine perforations 8, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. If desired, the gauze protector, shown in Figs.

1 and 2 or the paper protector shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 may be medicated or treated in any suitable manner by means of an anti-- septic or 'germicide so as to further aid in preventing the dissemination of a disease through the use of the telephone. An individual germ proof protector is thus provided which is inexpensive and permits of a more sanitary use of a telephone. After the user of the telephone has completed the conversation the protector may be slipped off from the mouthpiece and thrown away leaving the-telephone free to be used in any desired manner by the following speaker.

Protectors of this character may be conit is possible not only to easily push the protector on to the mouthpiece ofthe telephone and also readily remove the same, but this construction of the rim also permitsof very compactly stacking these protectors so that a comparatively large number of the same may be stowed away in a comparatively small space, this being particularly important for transporting the same andalso for stacking the largest number possible within a given space available in a coin controlled vending machine.

Owing to thesimplicity of the construction of this protector the same can be produced at comparatively small cost so as to make it possible for the same to go into general use and thus promote the general health of the community.

I claim as my invention:

1. A protector-for mouthpieces comprising a tubular body, a diaphragm arranged transversely at the rear end of the body, and a reversed attaching rimarranged on the outer side of said body and consisting of an inner annular flange which projects rearwardly from the front edge of the body and isof rearwardly tapering form and an outer annular flange which projects forwardly from the rear edge of said inner flange and is of rearwardly tapering form.

2. A protector for mouthpieces comprising a tubular body, a diaphragm arranged transversely at the rear end ofthe'body, and a reversed attaching rim arranged on the outer side of said body and consisting of an inner annular flange which projects rearwardly from the front edge of the body and is of rearwardly tapering form and an outer annular flange which projects forwardly from the rear edge of said inner flange and is of rearwardly tapering form and has its front edge of larger diameter than that of the front edge of said body. 3. A protector for mouthpieces comprising abody, and a resilient attaching rimar-' ranged around said body and having an inner flange which projects rearwardly from the body and is reduced and an outer flange which projects forwardly from said. inner flange and is enlar ed forwardly.

4. A protector or mouthpieces comprising a body, and a resilient attaching rim arranged around said body and having an inner flange which projects rearwardly from the body and is reduced and an outer flange which projects forwardly from said inner flange and is enlarged forwardly, the rear side of the meeting parts of said inner and outer flanges being constructed to form a forwardly tapering surface for engaging the front edge of a mouthpiece and cause the rim to be sprung outwardly and the inner side of said inner flange to grip the periphery of the mouthpiece in rear of its front end.

MARY GRIFFIN HEBERLY. 

